The debate on how to acquire permissions is exhaustive! Everyone has their own ideas on what is the best way on gaining those new "elusive" permissions. This could be through a face to face meeting, a letter, an email or a 'phone call.

Personally, I think it's quite easy..... as long as you follow a couple of simple rules.

The first rule is quite straightforward; most landownersdojudge a book by its cover so smarten up if you are going to pay a personal visit.If you "look" the part, there's a good chance you will get the part.Tidy hair, clean shaven and clean half-decent clothing will score quite a few "Brownie" points. Presentable footwear is a bonus too.​Presentation is key!

Eye contact is essential and maintaining it is paramount.​You don't have to talk "posh" but you do need to have good diction. Free, fought, finkandfanksare no substitute forthree, thought, thinkandthanks. Also, as soon as you start "erming" and repeating yourself it just sounds as though you don't know what you're talking about. Rehearse your patter. Once you've mastered the diction, you should also sound passionate about your hobby! Again, presentation is key!

The second rule; if you're writing to the landowner/farmer, whether by letter or email, absolute accuracy with grammar is paramount:1. No grammatical mistakes ie; I'm instead ofam, tooinstead ofto, theirland instead ofthereland, 2, As stated, grammar is so important ... capitals where they should be ie; "I'm" instead of "i'm", capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and the same with names, such as﻿P﻿aul instead ofpaul.3. Punctuation is also important. Try to create paragraphs and structure your letter, or email, so that it's easy on the eye.... and easy to read. Remember, most landowners read lots of documents, educational literature and scores of letters and emails from various professional sources.Ensure that the correspondence is factual, "to the point" and extremely interesting.4. Finish off with the standard letter/email conclusion which has all your contact options included; such as your home and mobile telephone numbers, website address if you have one, and of course, your email address if you have that too. If you're using the letter option, include your home address. A stamped, self-addressed envelope may help encourage replies although don't count on it.